


Our Day Is Here

by hernameinthesky



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Background Derek/Scott, Background Relationships, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 19:52:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6092152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hernameinthesky/pseuds/hernameinthesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Scott from High School?” Erica asks, surprised.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“They stayed in touch?”</p><p>Cora pauses to take a sip of her tea, then shrugs and says in a casual tone but not meeting Erica’s eyes, “Yeah, I guess not everyone drifts apart."</p><p>OR</p><p>Cora and Erica meet after not speaking for three years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Day Is Here

**Author's Note:**

> For twfemslashficrec's Femslash February Writing Challenge (prompt - friends to lovers)

Erica feels oddly aware of her body as she shrugs off her jacket in the crowded café, of the length of her arms and the way the back of her chair bumps into the one behind it when she sits down. She can feel her heart beating hard in her chest and her throat, is sweating under her arms and at the small of her back, has to ask the waitress to repeat herself when she tries to take Erica’s order.

“A hot chocolate, please,” Erica says with an apologetic smile, “and a tea, milk no sugar.”

It’s only after the girl has left that Erica is seized with anxiety because she has no idea if Cora still drinks tea or if it was presumptuous to order for somebody she hasn’t seen in three years.

She stands up with a vague notion to go back and cancel the whole order, wait for Cora to arrive, but just then the door opens, the tinkling of bells announcing Cora’s arrival. It takes her a moment to notice Erica, and in that moment Erica is frozen with panic. Cora looks… amazing, is the only word that springs to Erica’s mind, and she doesn’t feel it does the woman standing in front of her justice. Cora’s cut her hair so it falls bluntly just below her ears, her cheeks are rosy with cold or excitement, and the smile she gives Erica when she finally lays eyes on her is blinding.

She moves forward, manoeuvring smoothly through the tables to reach Erica’s side, and pulls her into a hug.

“Hi,” she says, her breath gusting over the side of Erica’s face.

It’s slightly awkward, the angle and the awareness that they’re not actually this close anymore, but Cora smells like soap and fresh air, and Erica feels her muscles relax a little at the contact.

“I ordered for you,” she says as they sit down opposite each other. “I hope that’s okay.”

Cora nods, taking off her coat. “Tea?”

“Milk no sugar.”

Cora grins and leans forward, resting an elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.

“It’s good to see you,” she says, her eyes warm as she gazes at Erica.

Erica relaxes a little more and returns the smile. “You too. Your hair looks fantastic.”

She has a second to worry that _fantastic_ is too exuberant before Cora says, “Thanks. So does yours, but you undoubtedly know that.”

“Of course I do,” Erica says, tossing her curls over her shoulder. She hesitates, then leans forward and says in a low voice, “I should hope so anyway. I spent over an hour fixing it this morning.”

And as Cora laughs, the rest of Erica’s anxiety slips away. By the time their drinks have come they’ve slipped back into their old easy rapport, joking and catching up on what they’ve missed the past three years at separate colleges.

“My first roommate was a _nightmare_ ,” Erica tells Cora.

“I remember,” Cora says, narrowing her eyes like she’s trying to recall the memory. “Mandy- No, Malory, wasn’t it? Always playing music at six in the morning and trying to get you to work out with her.”

“Yeah, and she wanted to room together the next year too! She hasn’t spoken to me since.”

Cora laughs loud enough to draw the attention of several people at surrounding tables, but she doesn’t stop. This, Erica notes, is a change. The Cora she knew was a lot more reserved, a lot less cheerful. It sends a pang of bittersweet nostalgia through Erica to compare the lanky teenager who was her best friend with this relaxed, confident woman sitting opposite her.

“I bet you told her exactly what you thought of her,” Cora says, eyes shining.

Erica smiles sheepishly. “I probably could have been a bit kinder,” she admits. “But my roommate in second year made up for it, it was only this year we stopped living together. She's this beautiful art student. Quiet but fun once you get to know her, kind of snarky. She paints the most amazing landscapes. I remember thinking when I met her that she was exactly your type, actually.”

“She does sound nice. Did you at least hook up with her for me?”

Erica shakes her head. “No, she's straight. She’s getting married next year actually, I’m going to be a bridesmaid.”

“Yeah? So’s Derek.”

“Going to be a bridesmaid?”

Erica grins as Cora rolls her eyes.

“Getting married. He and Scott got engaged a few months ago.”

“Scott from High School?” Erica asks, surprised.

“Yeah.”

“They stayed in touch?”

Cora pauses to take a sip of her tea, then shrugs and says in a casual tone but not meeting Erica’s eyes, “Yeah, I guess not everyone drifts apart. They emailed a lot that first year, then got together when Scott came home for the summer.”

There’s more resignation in her eyes than accusation when she finally meets Erica’s gaze, but Erica bristles all the same.

“I guess both people have to be totally committed to keep a long-distance relationship going,” she says in the same casual tone Cora used.

Cora presses her mouth together, no longer smiling. There’s a long, awkward pause, then Cora sighs.

“Why didn’t you come home that summer?” she says bluntly, putting her tea down and folding her arms.

Contrary to the intended effect, this return to the sullen Cora of old days makes Erica feel more relaxed than before. It assures her that Cora is still the same, underneath all the polish growing up has given her.

She finds the words come easier than she expected them to, easy both because Cora is the same and because she’s different. “I had a huge crush on you back then, and I heard you were dating someone,” she says, keeping her eyes fixed on Cora’s, whose widen with shock. “Our emails had been petering out anyway, we hadn’t skyped in months, and…” She shrugs. “It was the last straw for me. I went to England on vacation with my parents instead, then came back to New York early to get a job.”

Cora's silent for long enough that Erica becomes uncomfortable. She shifts in her chair and drains the last of her hot chocolate.

“Look, it was a long-”

“I had no idea-”

They both stop.

Erica snorts with laughter. “You first,” she says.

Cora hesitates, then shrugs. “I had no idea. I thought you were just bored of me.” She smiles faintly. “I guess I spent all these years angry for no reason.”

“You were angry with me?” Erica says, raising her eyebrows. “You didn’t seem it when you came in.”

“I’m mostly over it. When Lydia told me she’d bumped into you, I realised how much I’d missed you. I couldn’t throw away the chance to see you again.”

“Oh.” Erica frowns at the table. “How come we were never this honest with each other back then? We probably could have avoided a lot of angst. Although maybe you would have been weirded out by my crush.”

She peers up at Cora through her lashes, hope blooming in her chest when Cora’s face goes pink.

“I wouldn’t have been weirded out. Probably the opposite, actually,” she says, sounding nervous.

They lock eyes.

“Am I… reading this all wrong?” Cora says hesitantly.

A smile spreads over Erica’s face. “Cora, would you like to go to dinner with me tonight? _Not_ as friends.”

Cora grins, not looking away from Erica as she says, “I’d love to.”


End file.
